Gua Sha Face & Body Regimen
By Amy Lupton
What is Gua Sha?
Gua Sha is a wonderful balancing technique for the skin & physique. This practice brings increased circulation to the skin, thus helping in the renewal of skin cells.
The benefits of gua sha are more than just skin deep... The skin is responsible for 25% of the body’s daily detoxification & eliminating around 2 pounds of waste acids daily.
Gua Sha encourages the body’s natural discharge of wastes, & aids in the drainage of your lymphatic system (whose job it is to remove toxins from the blood and other vital tissues).
It helps eliminate clogged pores, absorb nutrients, while aiding in proper excretion of metabolic wastes.
Helps with nervous system health, stimulating nerve endings & rejuvenates the nervous system, keeping you in a parasympathetic state (this is a calm, happy, centered you). :)
We found when we saw clients that had lymphatic stagnation, skin issues (such as rashes, growths) we could add herb infused oils while practicing gua sha and found accelerated results.
Botanicals to get you started:
Gua Sha Facial Regimen
Apply Bhava Hydrate Serum to a clean, dry face by placing a few small drops in the palm of the hand, rub palms together to distribute serum and gently pat into the skin.
Once serum is dry, apply Gua Sha Oil to the face, neck and chest area. Only a small amount is needed.
Then holding the Gua Sha using light pressure, massage across the face and neck using the below technique for at least one minute (5 minutes is ideal).
Jawline: Gently sweep from the chin along the jawline in an upward motion towards the ears.
Neck: Gently press at the base of the neck above collar bone and move
Gua Sha in an upwards motion towards the jaw.Cheeks: Gently press from the center of the face and work outwards
towards the ears (be careful and extremely gentle near the eye area). Never pull down, always go in upward motion.Brows: Gently sweep across the brow line starting from the centre and working outwards in upward motion.
Forehead: gently sweep in an upward motion towards hairline.
We always recommend being gentle and using light pressure to avoid any bruising on the face.
When using Gua Sha on the body, begin by applying oil to the area you will work.
You can simply rub the gua sha back and forth on the area several times and move to a different area. Or you can take a methodical approach.
Using the curved edge of the tool (gua sha) start at the armpit region and move tool to center of chest. Work in strokes from hand to armpit, from feet to knee, knee to groin area, small of lower back or buttocks upward. Finally, use the tool on the stomach area, the direction towards the belly button.
Repeat several times a week.
Tips for keeping the skin healthy during these practices:
Stay hydrated, make sure you're getting sleep, keep stress to a minimum, eat the rainbow, & ditch the toxic skincare.
“No other organ is actively engaged in discharging impurities from the body than the skin: It is a close relative of the lungs and kidneys.”
-Dr. Berkowsy